As most of you have seen or read, some of the latest models from Germany will flash the turn signals 3 or 4 times when you briefly tap the turn stalk. Ron Stygar and I figured out how to add this to the E36 3ers and Z3s a couple years back after a bunch of Z3 guys over at bimmerfest.com got wind of this feature and all enthusiastic about adding it to their cars.
While it may seem a little frivolous -- it did to Ron and me when we first heard about it -- it is actually quite handy and useful. With just a brief tap of the turn stalk, you can squirt off a string of 3 or 5 flashes when you wish to change lanes, effectively "fire and forget", and then direct your attention to the surrounding traffic you are about to crunch into. Ron also uses his to fire off some flashes when he goes through an intersection at speed. That way, he doesn't have to worry about latching the turn stalk and forgetting to cancel it.
I designed and programmed a small automotive controller to add this one-touch turn signal feature to our cars. I have been making up a harness for people to insert the controller between the turn stalk and turn signal relay, along side the steering column. Here is a picture of an early prototype that shows how it plugs in:
Everything you see stretching to the floor neatly tucks in and coils up under the dash.
The installation is plug and play, doesn't disturb the stock wiring, and is fully reversible. After you remove the driver's kick (facia) U.S. knee protection panels, the hardest part is probably unclipping and unplugging the turn stalk connector.
The controller can also remove the 116 mph limiter on M44 and later cars. That installation is not quite as plug and play. You need to run a wire over to the ABS/ASC+T controller (behind the glove box), pop out a connector contact, insert another and then slide a couple contacts together and fix them with heat shrink.
As to cost, I have been charging people $60 + $30 + shipping for the controller and harness or a little a bit more for a harness for a non-U.S. car with one-sided parking lights. If anyone is interested in a gizmo, they can email me at johnf at freenet dot de (preferred), or send me a PM. I don't think anyone that has added one has been disappointed!